Update:
[FONT="]Published: April 9, 2012 Updated: 1:31 p.m. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Driver faces charges in death of cycle racer's son[/FONT]
[FONT="]Investigators say Tatsuhiko Sakamoto was driving drunk when he hit and killed the son of a prominent O.C. racing family.[/FONT]
[FONT="]By DOUG IRVING / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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[FONT="]A man accused of killing the son of a prominent Orange County racing family while driving drunk faces criminal charges that include manslaughter and could put him behind bars for 10 years.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Tatsuhiko Sakamoto, 37, of Arcadia, drove through traffic cones and slammed into 21-year-old Connor Penhall as he worked on the 10 Freeway in Baldwin Park, according to the California Highway Patrol. Penhall, of Corona, was operating a concrete saw as a member of a roadwork crew.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sakamoto was scheduled to enter a plea on Monday, but his court hearing was postponed until April 26. He was released from jail late Sunday after he posted $300,000 bail.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Penhall's father, Bruce, was a champion motorcycle rider who later joined the cast of CHiPs on television, portraying Officer Bruce Nelson. The Penhall family came to Orange County in the 1800s and founded Anaheim-based Penhall Company, which now claims to be the nation's largest concrete-demolition company. The company was later sold.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Connor Penhall raced motorcross and competed with his older brother Ryan in the Baja desert races. He won the motorcycle championship in 2007, according to Score International, the organization that sanctions the Baja 1000.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sakamoto has been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in connection with Connor Penhall's death. He has also been charged with driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol level causing injury and a special allegation of causing great bodily injury.[/FONT]
[FONT="]If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.[/FONT]
[FONT="]–City News Service contributed to this report.[/FONT]
http://www.ocregister.com/news/penhall-348395-county-connor.html